Lorekeepers

The Dhe'nar Lorekeeper is a jack of all trades. Part Priest, part Warrior, but mostly a Warlock, the Lorekeeper keeps the oral histories not attended by the Temple and weaves elemental magics in a way that no one else can. They are often trusted with the deepest secrets of each Caste, as their discretion and ability to keep secrets is surpassed only by their thirst for knowledge.

As the Shadowy Conscriptors pass through the villages in search of candidates, they note children with magic potential that do not quite meet their standards. These children are noted to the Warriors and Priests for observation as the child grows to maturity.

Even as a child, the true Lorekeeper will show his colors. He will adapt readily to any situation, as at home with a blade as he is with a lute, as proficient with magics on a battlefield as with songs and stories around the fire. They often spend every spare moment lurking at the edges of the Temple or gathering place of mages, garnering snatches of hidden lore and gossip.

Near the age of twelve, as warriors begin learning skill with weaponry, the child is taken aside and given an extensive series of tests. First, a skilled Lorekeeper recites what equates to several pages of generally secret history to the child. Then the examinations begin. Memory retention, vocal control, skill with magic and understanding of the divine are all measured, as is stamina, tolerance for pain and skill in the more carnal arts.

Once they are beaten, bloody and exhausted, they are placed in a room with a priest or priestess. They are then interrogated as if they had been captured by an enemy looking for the information given at the beginning of the ordeal. Tactics ranging from outright violence to seduction to mental probing are used. Any candidate who spills information in this questioning is killed on the spot. Any who withstand the process must make an immediate mental about-face and recite the information they were given exactly, down to the intonation and pitch in which it was first spoken to them.

The final competition weighs the child’s ability to ferret out the truth from a passal of lies. Those children who pass the first set of examinations are given a few coins and sent to a local tavern for a celebratory drink. Awaiting them, disguised and in forms unknown to the students, are several senior Lorekeepers. As the children enjoy their drinks, the seniors begin an involved argument and war of words, weaving a web of lies, half-truths, and conjectures, with several facts thrown in for flavoring. The discussion is intense and often unpleasant, but quiet, forcing any casual listeners to strain to hear what is being said.

The stage thus set, the participants leave, still playing their roles. A Lorekeeper then emerges from the shadows. The children are instructed to discover the truths behind the argument that just took place, and to do so in the span of a day. They are given no further information, no recap of the discussion. Any who did not listen must find what they missed rapidly as those that paid attention work to uncover the facts beneath the fictions.

At the end of the allotted time, the children report to the Lorekeepers once more to state what they have learned. As the tales unfold, it is easy to see who paid attention and who allowed their observational powers to slide. This is the first, most important (and most pointed) lesson for the young Lorekeepers: never, ever cease to note what is happening around you. To fail is to die.

From here, the training continues in a manner very similar to that of a young Warlock. The students are taught rudimentary reading and writing skills, enough to write their own names and very basic notes. They are also taught elemental magics, and the skills needed to focus these powers with their voices. It is said that a skilled Lorekeeper can draw the essence and hold it about them, creating the equivalent of an earthnode, as well as being able to pull the magic from items for their own use.

The students are also used as carriers for important messages for the Temple and Academy. As they were forced to do in the testing, they are given verbal messages to deliver, accurate to the vocal shading it was first spoken in. This is an ability that makes Lorekeepers indispensable, for the way a message is spoken can mean the difference between friendship and hostility.

As their training progresses, their duties to the Castes expand. They are often used to provide background music to important meetings, rituals, and more private sojourns where discretion is required. One of the first things impressed upon a young Lorekeeper is the Code of Silence. Unless they have been employed to get specific information for the good of the Dhe’nar, no Lorekeeper will reveal what they know, or learn in the line of their duty, to any but another Lorekeeper. The loyalty and trustworthiness of the Lorekeepers is one constant in Dhe’nar society.

Lorekeepers in training spend time learning from each Caste, studying as if they were a trainee to that group alone but never learning all secrets only one of that Caste may know. Where a Priestess can recite an entire bloodline, a Lorekeeper may only be able to go back half a hundred generations, and so on.

After two decades of training, the young Lorekeepers are given a final Test, most similar to the one given to the Warlocks. Every skill, secret and trick they know is stretched to the limits under pain, coercion and fear. Those that survive are given an instrument of their choice from the finest artisans, and in a stroke of amusing irony are taken to the tavern they visited at their first testing, this time for a real celebration.

Openly, the Lorekeepers are under the guidance of the Temple, despite being members of the Warlock Caste. This is because of their affiliation with histories, lore and music, which is the Temple’s province. However, it is often rumored that the Lorekeepers give more loyalty to their Caste than is commonly known, working to further the ends of the Warlock caste despite illusions to the contrary.

Lorekeepers are often used as spies and gatherers of information to other countries and societies. They are also the keepers of the histories and rituals not handled by the Priesthood. This makes them a valuable resource. They are also the authors of some of the most beautiful music, poetry and fiction in Dhe'nar society, legendary for their ability to move even the most stoic of souls.

Despite all their extra duties and roles, Lorekeepers are primarily scholars and artists. They enjoy little more than studying the past, learning every nuance of what has gone before, often composing oral or musical histories that are passed down from generation to generation. The saying goes that no one can outtalk a Lorekeeper...and no one has yet proven this saying incorrect. Asking a Lorekeeper a question about their favorite historical subject will generally give you several more hours of information than you really wanted to know.

Lorekeepers are the most complex and offbeat sub-Caste by far. Wherever they are, they cut a unique niche for themselves with their windy histories and lyrical voices, as well as their uncanny ability to simply know everything.